QuickWire: Yale U. to Offer Digital Images of Objects From Its Collections

Yale University announced today that it is making digital images of objects in its many collections freely available online. “In a departure from established convention, no license will be required for the transmission of the images, and no limitations will be imposed on their use,” the university said in its statement. “The result is that scholars, artists, students, and citizens the world over will be able to use these collections for study, publication, teaching, and inspiration.” More than 250,000 images have already been made available in a new online catalog, the university said. “Those include the war bonnet of Sioux chief Red Cloud from the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, a Mozart sonata in the composer’s own hand from the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, a 15th-century Javanese gold kris handle from the Indo-Pacific collection of Yale University Art Gallery, and a watercolor by William Blake from the collection of prints and drawings in the Yale Center for British Art,” it said. Click here for a slideshow of some highlights.